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Grill 44 is Now Serving Up Dosas

Grill 44 (on 44th btw. Lex+3rd) joined the kati roll revolution back in 2008 by adding ‘Indian burritos’ to their usual stream tray assortment of samosas, curries, lamb vindaloo and tikka masala. Now 44G is packing even more into their tiny storefront by serving a South Indian menu. It’s always dubious when a restaurant adds too many different items to one menu, but 44G seem to be pulling it off. I’m not a dosa expert by any means, but my taste buds know flavorful delicious food… so I set forth to expand my horizons.

Each dosa is made to order and the cooks are congenial and seem to take pride in what they serve. I went with the Masala Dosa for $7.95. It a thin rice and lentil crepe stuffed with seasoned potatoes served with sambhar, coconut milk and mint chutney.

My first thought was that’s pretty pricey for something that doesn’t even come with meat. However, those thoughts vanished when I saw how enormous this bulging torpedo looked once I pulled it out.

Each piece of potato was infused with a yellow saffron spiced coating. Mixed in were grilled onions, peas and some bits of herbs (maybe cilantro or parsley?) I didn’t care much for the watery coconut dressing, and the fairly small cup of sambhar I could take or leave, but the spicy mint sauce was excellent and added some heat to this potato packed starch fest.

For a vegetarian lunch, you’d be surprised how tasty and filling this dosa can be. If you feel extra gluttonous, I’d pick up a small order of samosas ($3.95) or an egg and chicken tikka kathi roll for an afternoon snack ($5.50.)

8 Comments

They’ve been serving the dosas for awhile now. Good for a dosa fix in the area. Their kathi rolls are OK, nothing special (and kind of overpriced). I still miss when the original place was serving Israeli food.

i’m not sure how much cheaper you’ll find dosa. I know of a temple that serves ‘em for $5. With volunteer cooks. In Delaware. Add the price of employment and the midtown markup, and it sounds about right.

FWIW, my favorite place in the city is the Hampton Chutney co. Get #12 with pumpkin chutney. Thank me later.

They used to hand out samples of the dosas here all the time during lunch back when it was warmer. They tasted good, but I was always hesitant to get one. I thought I wouldnt get filled up on it for 8 bucks. Seems like I might be wrong. It looks good, wish it came with a side salad or something, though